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Multimedia Battery for Assessment of Cognitive and Basic Skills in Mathematics BM-PROMA
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Handy numerals: compositional elements in body-based numeration systems
Olga Dudojć1, Andrea Bender1,2, Chiara Anceschi1
1Department of Psychosocial Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
Summary
Body-based numeration systems use body parts to represent numbers, facing anatomical constraints. This study analyzes
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Anthropology
- Linguistics
Background:
- Body-based numeration systems utilize anatomical features for numerical representation.
- Human anatomy presents both limitations and opportunities for creating number systems.
- Compositional elements, like numeral bases, are strategies for forming complex numerals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and characterize compositional elements ('compositional anchors') in body-based numeration systems.
- To investigate how these anchors are represented using body parts.
- To compare body-based numeration with other numerical systems.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of data from the BodyBase database.
- Identification of compositional elements and their values.
- Examination of representational strategies (movements, hand shapes, spatial configurations).
Main Results:
- Compositional elements in body-based systems exhibit diverse types and values.
- Representations utilize various body-based strategies, including movement and spatial arrangement.
- Similarities and differences were observed when compared to verbal and notational systems.
Conclusions:
- Body-based numeration systems employ unique compositional strategies shaped by their physical format.
- Understanding these systems provides insights into the structure of numeration across different modalities.
- Anatomical constraints influence the design and evolution of number representation.
Keywords:
compositional elementembodied cognitionfinger countingnumber representationnumeral basenumeration systemsMore Related Videos
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